FatherSon
by aapac
Summary: A father, a son, and a memory that will not be forgotten. An evil deed from Angel’s past shows us how much Connor means to him and how far a father’s love goes. Please R


Father/Son  
  
Synopsis: A father, a son, and a memory that will not be forgotten. An evil deed from Angel's past shows us how much Connor means to him and how far a father's love goes.  
  
This story takes place during 3x17 "Forgiving", just before Angel performs the dark ritual  
  
Joining Angel in his office as he threw the piece of paper detailing the specifics of the ritual on his desk then looking around the cupboards for the supplies he needed, Lilah spoke cautiously. "Are you sure you're not gonna stuff this up?" "What's this I hear? Lilah Morgan showing concern?" Angel asked sarcastically. "Actually I'm trying to make sure my ass is not on the line. The last time I was around one of these dark rituals I almost got killed. Some idiotic employee at Wolfram & Hart decided that he didn't like working for us anymore and ripped open a portal to the Senior Partners. He blew apart a whole level of the building Angel, it was lucky I was on the bottom floor, or else I would've joined him in hell too." "I'm sorry to hear that." Angel replied softly. "Oh please, like you care about 100 lawyers going up in flames." Lilah snorted. "No, I meant I'm sorry to hear you didn't get killed with them." Angel said. Lilah's face hardened, she took a step towards him. "Look Angel, you wouldn't be able to do this ritual if it weren't for me, so I better not be seeing any stabbing in the back." "What else do I need?" Angel asked, ignoring her words. Lilah picked up the paper from the desk and read it out aloud to him. "Candles, a knife, and some paint, you need to make." "A red pentagram." Angel finished for her. "How did you know that?" Lilah asked "This isn't the first time I've done this type of ritual." He responded. "It isn't?" Lilah asked hopefully. "No, but it was a long time ago. A wizard, who tried a teleportation spell, got stuck in limbo. I performed the ritual to set him free" Angel's voice was deep with regret. "You did it to save him?" Lilah asked curiously. "No Lilah, I was Angelus back then. I did it so I could get a hold of him and rip his throat out" "Oh, not one of your best friends" She said. Lilah had read many files on Angel's past, but never anything about a wizard. "What happened?"  
  
Ireland, 1755  
  
Darla bent down in front of the small boy who stood trembling in front of her. "What's your name young one?" She asked. A wide smile planted across her face. "Joseph." He replied, the smile only confusing and terrifying him even more. "Well that's a nice name, but I'm sure we can come up with a better one for you." She looked up at Angelus, who leaned against a wooden pier railing, bored. "I don't get it Darla," He said, his annoyance coming across clearly. "If you really wanted a kid all these years you had plenty of opportunities considering your career choice." Darla stood, taking Joseph's hand in her own. "Don't be rude Angelus, no one likes a smart mouth." She started to walk away with the boy. "What are you planning to do with these two?" Angelus asked, pointing down at the ladies who lay dead on the ground, blood still spilling out of their neck wounds. "Roll them over into the water." Darla said, not even looking back. Angelus did so, the bodies making a splash in the water which did not alert anyone in such an early hour of the morning. "And what are you planning to do with him?" Angelus asked, catching up with them. "As I said, I've always wanted a child. He will do perfectly." "Can we get rid of him before he reaches those teenage years though?" Angelus asked, not really liking the idea of having a child joining him on his travels. "That won't be necessary." Darla responded. "Why not?" "Because he's not getting any older than he is now." Darla's face vamped out and her teeth sunk into Joseph's neck, her hand muffling his cries for help. Angelus looked on, a smile across his face.  
  
A week passed, Darla walked back into their houses licking her fingers, which were stained with blood. Dropping her things, which included a still beating heart on the table she noticed Angelus teaching Joseph to paint. But there was no need to; his skill on the canvas surpassed any she had ever seen before in her very long life. He looked up at her and smiled. "Hi mummy." He shouted, waving excitedly. Darla bent over, making her closer to his height. "I've got a present for you," She said. "Come and have a look." Joseph ran over as Darla moved the heart in front of his face. He grabbed it greedily. "He's sweet." Darla smiled as she collapsed into Angelus' arms. "He's an animal." Angelus replied watching him stuffing his face with the organ. Darla laughed, "I thought you hated him, and instead I walk in to find you playing games and god forbid - having fun." "He's grown on me." Angelus said softly. "It's not that bad having him around." They both turned their focus to the painted canvas. "He's a good artist." Darla observed. "Very good actually. It probably would've been his career." She reached out and fingered the curves of the picture, smiling at the wonder of it. Angelus grabbed her hand and squeezed, and she squealed in delight as they started kissing passionately and tumbled to the floor, Joseph still eating away at his meal. They were a family. But a pair of eyes were watching them, and they were red with anger.  
  
Present  
  
"I never knew he was watching us then, he never showed himself. But he eventually did." "I'm still not hearing anything about a ritual." Lilah pushed, urging Angel to continue the story. He had stopped talking, reminiscing in the past. "Right," he continued. "Joseph and I grew even closer, and all he wanted to do in life was to paint pictures. So I let him do it on me." "Huh?" Lilah asked, confused. "A tattoo." Angel answered. "Oh," Lilah continued. She then stopped to think. "You have a tattoo?" She asked. Angel looked at her, and started to unbutton his shirt.  
  
Ireland, 1755  
  
"It's magnificent." Darla admired, looking at the tattoo on Angelus' shirtless back. "But what is it?" Angelus asked, not for the first time. "You keep saying how good it is, but you have yet to tell me what it actually is a tattoo of. I can't exactly go to a mirror and have a look can I?" "It's an 'A'," Darla informed him. "With a gryphon perched on top of it." She turned her attention to Joseph. "You are amazing my child. I am in awe." Angelus turned to face him. "A gryphon?" He asked, disappointed. "Why a gryphon?" "Because gryphons are powerful." Joseph told him, a wide smile on his beaming face. "The body of a lion, representing strength and leadership and the eagle's head, representing your skill at hunting and your keen eyes. Gryphons are also said to be guardians, and you guard me and mother. It's the perfect animal to carry on your body forever." Angelus smiled at the youngster and his extensive knowledge. "Good job my boy, you are truly a wonder. Come now, we will celebrate by feasting. Let's go now and find a nice family to eat." He and Darla headed for the exit but stopped as they heard Joseph say, "My human father also liked to turn into one." They turned around, Darla's face filled with concern. "I thought we told you never to mention your human life again. And what's this about your father?" "My father's a wizard." Joseph told them. "He liked to turn himself into a gryphon to fly around the countryside." Darla's eyes went wide and she turned away. "Angelus." She started to say, but trailed off, pointing out a window off into the distance. Angelus turned around to see what she was focused on, only to see a massive gryphon come hurtling through the window knocking both him and Darla to the ground. It's talons digging deep wounds into their skins. Darla screamed out in agony, and Angelus rolled on top to protect her as the gryphon came around for another pass. But the mythical creature struggled to fly in the small room and fell to the floor, instantly turning back into a human. As he stood, Angelus saw a splitting image of Joseph in his face, aged about 40 years. "You murderers!" He screamed. Blue lighting came out of his outstretched hands, enveloping Angelus and Darla in a painful embrace as they screamed out. Joseph ran for cover. But then the wizard fell to the ground, weak now. He had drained all of his available power and his anger only made him more tired. Angelus got up and moved towards him, beating him into a bloody pulp before throwing him across the room. The wizard drew a stake from his cloak and concealed it as Angelus came for him once more. As he was picked up, the wizard brought the stake around to Angelus' heart, but didn't plunge it into his chest. Angelus dropped the man, but he continued to press the stake against his skin. "You stole my son." He sneered, spitting into Angelus' face. "But killing you now will do no good; you can live with the memory of stealing a child forever." He spun round, now facing Angelus' back and plunged the stake into the tattoo, again and again. He screamed in fury as Angelus was forced to the floor, unable to move from the pain. Darla eventually regained enough strength to move over and throw him off, only to see the holes in Angelus' skin. At least 50 deep wounds covered the tattoo that Joseph drew on him, and she could hardly make out the design. But it would heal over time. Joseph's father took one last look at his son's face, but what looked back at him was not an innocent child. It was a monster with fanged teeth who was racing forward to kill him yelling, "You hurt my parents!" The wizard chanted then vanished from the room, a bright green light taking him away, whispering, "Goodbye." Joseph was left with a stake sticking out of his chest. The dust gently hit the floor as Angelus and Darla sadly looked on.  
  
Present  
  
"We found out later that he was stuck in limbo, he didn't have enough power to take him to his destination. I performed the ritual, got a hold of him, and killed him. But the wizard was a fool," Angel told Lilah. "I didn't have a soul; I never cared about turning Joseph or him, until now. Now I do have a soul, and I do feel the regret." "Why don't you just get the tattoo removed if it's such a bad memory?" Lilah asked. "I don't deserve to." Angel said. "Not until I've reached my redemption can I rid myself of it." "Vampires with souls." Lilah said, rolling her eyes. "Evil took that that child Lilah, and never let go of it." Angel whispered. "I wanted to keep Connor away from this sort of stuff, but I knew deep down inside it could never happen. I'm not going to lose a son for a second time." "Well, I guess evil never changes" Lilah commented. "How's that?" Angel asked. "Because if by some miraculous chance your kid comes tumbling through that portal you're about to open up, don't think you're the one that's going to be catching him." "Ah Lilah, but one thing has changed about me from that time." Angel replied. "What's that?" "I don't let evil win." They smiled at each other, and then walked into the main lobby of the Hyperion to perform the ritual. 


End file.
